Techniques - Clay

Types of Clay

There are several kinds of clay in popular use, but all my experience is with Sculpey III. It comes in 2 oz. bricks in a myriad of colors, including translucents and pearls. I've used it successfully to make molds and jewelry, and I've been able to press it into the molds to make the finished embellishments.

Preparation

While it is possible to prepare the clay by hand, my fingers weren't strong enough, so I purchased a manual pasta machine. My first purchase was a no-name brand at a local store and while it worked all right, I stripped the gears in two months. I then purchased a used Atlas Pasta Machine from Ebay - it wasn't expensive but shipping was rather high since the machine is so heavy. Night and day! The Atlas works so smoothly, and I am able to take a brick of clay right from the wrapper and put it through the machine.

To "condition" clay, run it through the pasta machine on the thickest setting (#1 on the Atlas). Fold the clay in half and put it through the machine again with the fold toward the rollers. Repeat, turning the clay 1/4 turn occasionally, 5-10 times until the clay is smooth and elastic.

Anything you use for clay, pasta machine, toaster oven for baking or any tools should be kept strictly for clay and not used for food preparation.

Baking

I preheat a dedicated toaster oven to 275, place clay objects on the baking tray, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 12 minutes. The white and translucent clay tends to discolor if left too long. Remove from oven and let cool.

Finishing the Piece

Rub the raised parts of the piece with:
- Gold (or any color) Rub n' Buff
- Pearl-ex powder
- Leafing pen
Sponge pigment ink on either just the raised portions, or the whole piece
Outline the edges (especially if they're "torn" with a gold leafing pen

Clay Molds

It's possible to use almost anything to make a mold - rubber stamps, old keys, fancy buttons, tiny frames, charms. I use the plain white Sculpey as it is the least expensive.

To use the mold:

Wipe the mold with a damp towel or dust with baby powder
Soften clay and press into mold, then carefully peel from mold
Decide how you want to finish the edge - you can tear the clay, or use an exacto knife to cut around the image. I've cut out several images, like the hearts and picture frames, but generally I like to tear the edges and leave a little excess

Molds from Rubber Stamps

Soften white Sculpey clay with your hand or run through a pasta machine
Dust surface with powder (I use a self-healing mat) and lay clay on surface
Wipe a rubber stamp with a damp towel (or dust with baby powder) and press stamp into clay. Carefully peel clay off stamp (the water prevents the clay from sticking to the stamp)
Make sure the impression and edges are the way you want. If you didn't get a good impression, ball up the clay and start again.
Bake the mold at 275 for 10-15 minutes and let cool
The first picture to the left shows the rubber stamp (yes, I know, it's stained!), the mold, and a finished embellishment. The second picture shows an embellishment made from a dragonfly stamp mold.
Following are two mini-books with the embellishments attached, and a card made from another rubber stamp mold. I used a gold Krylon pen to highlight the raised portions of the design and outline the torn edges of the piece on the first book. I left the dragonfly embellishment on the second book plain, and I sponged purple pigment ink on the face piece on the card.

Molds from Charms and Found Objects

Soften white Sculpey clay with your hand or run through a pasta machine
For flat items like picture frames, mold the same way as the rubber stamps. Wipe the item with a damp towel (or dust with baby powder) and press into clay. Carefully peel clay off object
For charms and buttons, I roll clay into a ball, flatten slightly, dampen or dust object, and press into clay
Bake the mold at 275 for 10-15 minutes and let cool
The first picture to the left is a piece from a mini picture frame mold. Unlike some of the other objects, I cut out the frame, leaving no excess clay.
The second picture is a piece from a heart charm mold. I cut this one out also.
The first picture below is an embellishment made from a fancy button mold using gold Sculpey.
The middle picture is a mini book using a piece made from a G-Cleff charm mold. I used a gold Krylon pen on the raised portion of the image and around the torn edges.
The card on the right used one of the clay hearts sponged with green pigment ink

Clay Embellishments from Candy Molds

Purchased plastic candy molds can be used to make clay embellishments - if you use the molds for clay, don't use them for food again.

Soften white Sculpey clay with your hand or run through a pasta machine
Dust the candy mold with baby powder and press in clay
Some were very easy to unmold; others were difficult. You may have to use a small stick to loosen an edge to remove the clay - just smooth it down with your hand
Bake the clay piece at 275 for 10-15 minutes and let cool
In the baby sample to the left, I used a mint candy mold. I pressed white clay into the mold first, then pressed colored clay in. This was the hardest piece to remove from the mold.
I used a starfish mold for the sailing card and sponged pigment ink on the piece after baking.

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